Campsite or Sight Seeing?

[Blackhat6mike]

Never stayed in a state park we didn't like.

[Exlimey]

We camp for over the weekends. On Saturday we try to get out and look for garage sales and/or do the shopping for the things we forgot. If the weather is cooperative, we'll spend the rest of the day enjoying the sun and do some reading. Sunday we'll stay around the campground until it's time to pack up and head home.

[wzpsjm]

Originally Posted by sherman12

Whenever you are on a trip with your camper do you spend most of your time at your campground, and how important to you is it, or is your destination the reason of the trip so you spend most of the day taking in the sights where you are?

We just got back from a great ten day trip up the west coast of Michigan. We stayed at Michigan State Parks on the whole trip. At the last two, Traverse City SP and Wildnerness SP by Mackinac City, especially Wilderness where our full hook up site was 100 feet or so from a quiet beautiful beach on Lake Michigan. We found it hard to leave the campgrounds each morning to take in the many things to see and do by at each location. Traverse City has Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore, about 30 miles away and a host of great New England type towns up the coast. Not to forget Traverse City itself! But the campgrounds were so nice and peaceful and rustic we wanted to spend more time enjoying the quiet and our camper. We made it work of course but I get the urge to find our next destination to be someplace that we will spend most of our time camping!

Sitting in Wilderness State Park as I write this. See no reason to move. Enjoying the new, this year, full service site M.

[Life Without Whine]

We go for a long weekend every month somewhere in the state of Florida.

Our location choices always involve either waterfront beach / fishing options (last month & this month), group gatherings (like FL FROG next month), bicycle sightseeing, microbreweries (Nov) or music festivals (Oct). We love our evenings & campfires on site along with morning coffee... then off we go to enjoy the area.

[LTRVing]

We generally bring a toad and sight see, but, occasionally we just like to veg at the site.

[fanrgs]

Originally Posted by aspengirl

We use our Solera as our "hotel room on wheels".

That's exactly how we've described our travel trailer and 5th wheel to those who are not RVers! In addition, we quickly decided that we are "travelers" and not "campers."

Retirement and an RV have given us the flexibility to travel the U.S. and Canada when we want, where we want, and for as long as we want. With an RV, we no longer have to worry about reservations for plane tickets, rental cars, or hotels or have to eat every meal in restaurants. Our 5th wheel is our "home away from home" when we are visiting all the places we have dreamed of exploring, but rarely had sufficient time when we were both working.

Retirement is the best job ever invented!

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by MinneweeseMI

We tend to do both and we travel differently for each. When sightseeing, we tend to eat at restaurants more or since we're in Michigan: a different microbrewery every night. When we are on a sightseeing adventure we are always looking for that next perfect spot to return to and do our other favorite type of camping: boondocking.

When sightseeing we don't bring the solar panel, never put up the awning or hammock and generally only stay two days in any given place.

Now that we have visited almost every square mile of Michigan we know lots of places to return to. The only place left is the thumb!

We are trying to see how many Michigan State Parks we can camp @,,,
But I don't think we will ever be able to say we have visited almost every square mile of Michigan ???
One Big draw back of having a small MH with no Toad is,,, we spend most of our out time kicking back @ the campgrounds,,, with an occasional short bike ride !!!

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by sherman12

To the Michigan responses, can't wait to go back! Would stay at Wilderness for 3-4 days a do the UP from there, back down to Traverse City, want to kayak the river! And take in as much as we missed this past trip. DW and I too like to go out and see what's around us, and to see how the other folks live where we re visiting. However, Wilderness was just so darn beautiful, quiet, friendliest Rangers we ever encountered it was hard to leave daily and when it was time to head back to WNY State.

Wilderness is a Very Nice Park,,, we were on site #13 for a couple of days this summer,,, the sites on the outside,,, away from the water are quite large,,, but if you choice to camp there,,, beware of the Poison Ivy !!!

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by wzpsjm

Sitting in Wilderness State Park as I write this. See no reason to move. Enjoying the new, this year, full service site M.

Are you on the water ??? Maybe got a little storm yesterday ???
We got our first rain fall last night in about 2 weeks,,, got just less than 2 & 3/4 of an inch!!! Lawn is like a stubble field !!!

[sherman12]

[CODE]Sitting in Wilderness State Park as I write this. See no reason to move. Enjoying the new, this year, full service site M. [/CODE __________________

Wish we were there along side you! M is a great site, we were at R on the corner, huge site.

Life Without Whine, very catchy! You hit on one of our favorite "small" things we absolutely love about camping is morning coffee outside! Its a great tag team to ending the night before with a campfire.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by sherman12

[CODE]Sitting in Wilderness State Park as I write this. See no reason to move. Enjoying the new, this year, full service site M. [/CODE __________________

Wish we were there along side you! M is a great site, we were at R on the corner, huge site.

Life Without Whine, very catchy! You hit on one of our favorite "small" things we absolutely love about camping is morning coffee outside! Its a great tag team to ending the night before with a campfire.

I see,,, one of the new Full Hooks Up sites,,, looks very large !!!

[mikes86gn]

Sherman. I'm just curious. I've stayed at almost every state park in Michigan including Wilderness and unless you are camped at the host site which most state parks have (requires staying 30 days or more and volunteer time) there are only 4 state parks with full hookups, South Higgins Lake SP, Hartwick Pines SP, Sterling SP, and Holland SP. How did you get a full hookup site?

Mike

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by mikes86gn

Sherman. I'm just curious. I've stayed at almost every state park in Michigan including Wilderness and unless you are camped at the host site which most state parks have (requires staying 30 days or more and volunteer time) there are only 4 state parks with full hookups, South Higgins Lake SP, Hartwick Pines SP, Sterling SP, and Holland SP. How did you get a full hookup site?

Mike

Wilderness has a new part of the park where they have full hookups !!!
They are alphabetic,,, it is just NE of the old park !!!
Check out the map on the Michigan State Park website !!!

[MCTroy]

We like to see all the attractions when we travel and take in the local culture. But on each trip I always plan for one day to just hang out. Usually the first day there to finish set up and relax. We also like a day that we can spend hiking or doing something with our dogs. They are on vacation too!

[sherman12]

Being signed up to the Michigan email newsletter I got an email announcing that the Michigan DNR added 13 full hook-up sites at Wilderness that just opened this summer. They are in the process of building a new comfort station too because part of this expansion are some really great tent sites off to one end of the new Alphabet section and they have a long walk to either a shower or flush toilets.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by sherman12

Being signed up to the Michigan email newsletter I got an email announcing that the Michigan DNR added 13 full hook-up sites at Wilderness that just opened this summer. They are in the process of building a new comfort station too because part of this expansion are some really great tent sites off to one end of the new Alphabet section and they have a long walk to either a shower or flush toilets.

The new full hook sites look pretty nice,,, pretty much full sun @ this point !!! And I don't think the sites are as large as some of the sites in the old park !!!

[mdstudey]

Originally Posted by sherman12

Being signed up to the Michigan email newsletter I got an email announcing that the Michigan DNR added 13 full hook-up sites at Wilderness that just opened this summer. They are in the process of building a new comfort station too because part of this expansion are some really great tent sites off to one end of the new Alphabet section and they have a long walk to either a shower or flush toilets.

I could never understand the reasoning of putting the comfort stations closer to the R.V.'s and tent further away. The tents are after all the ones who needs them. I remember when we were in line (newbie) for the dump station and a guy with young kids says that if there is not a full hook up, no one can poop in the camper. Yet at this campground unless you pitch a tent in an RV site, but all of the tent sites were walk in and far, far, away from the comfort stations. When tent camping, I have found unpleasant surprises in camp and it was not from dogs.

[BandJCarm]

Don't y'all fish??? LOL

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by mdstudey

I could never understand the reasoning of putting the comfort stations closer to the R.V.'s and tent further away. The tents are after all the ones who needs them. I remember when we were in line (newbie) for the dump station and a guy with young kids says that if there is not a full hook up, no one can poop in the camper. Yet at this campground unless you pitch a tent in an RV site, but all of the tent sites were walk in and far, far, away from the comfort stations. When tent camping, I have found unpleasant surprises in camp and it was not from dogs.

Right On !!!
Seams they could at least use a fold up shovel and burry it !!!
LOL !!!

[cincia]

Like others we use our tt as a mobile motel room. We keep planning on spending some down time in it just relaxing but it never ends up that way. We usually end up using it as a place to crash - just eating and sleeping in it. Hopefully one of these days we'll have some time to just sit and relax but I wouldn't count on it, it's a big country and there's just too much to see and do. cincia